


Damn Your Horse, Eliwood

by RandomPanda



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken | Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword
Genre: Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-03 06:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14563344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomPanda/pseuds/RandomPanda
Summary: "The next time Hoofbrain tries to eat my hand, I'll kill him!"





	Damn Your Horse, Eliwood

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this years ago, but the original place I posted this at is long gone. Decided to post it here after editing it.

“I’ll be back in a bit,” said Hector.

Lyn stepped beside him. “Where are you going? Lord Athos said we should go soon—”

“I know, I know. But there’s something I have to do.”

He went on without seeing Lyn’s reaction. He didn’t feel he had enough time to explain he wanted to retrieve Snowy the horse from where they’d kept all the mounts at the camp. Goodness knew he’d need every second to fight the beast anyhow.

Hector hated that horse. Always had, since years ago. Since the days they were fifteen, and Eliwood received Snowy as a you’ve-almost-come-of-age-but-not-quite present. They grew into fast friends, much like Hector and Eliwood themselves when they first met. Of course, the horse appeared to view the redhead as his only friend. No sooner had Hector reached over to pet Snowy, the blasted beast tried to bite his hand off.

“I think he’s just shy,” Eliwood had said.

“I guess so,” a begrudging Hector agreed.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of him so he won’t try to bite anyone else’s hands off.”

Except apparently, “anyone else” didn’t include Hector for some reason. To everyone else, Snowy acted like a docile, playful steed. To Hector, not so much. No matter the day or the place, if he drew near enough, Snowy would try to gobble his hand. In less than a year, Snowy somehow got it in his damn horse’s head to hide his vicious actions from Eliwood. This, in turn, got Hector into more trouble once Snowy’s rider and staunch supporter came to check on all the commotion, which led to arguments. Snowy probably laughed at him behind his back at those times.

One day, when he was seventeen, Hector snapped and bellowed loud enough to wake the whole of Castle Ostia. “Damn your horse, Eliwood!”

“Don’t say that!” Eliwood petted the horse behind the ears. “Snowy’s friendly. He’s playing around, is all.”

“The horse wants to eat my hand! How can he be just ‘playing around’ for two years straight?” Hector shook his fist at the skies. “The next time Hoofbrain tries to eat my hand, I’ll kill him!”

A sudden inferno blazed in Eliwood’s eyes. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“It’s a horse!” cried Hector. “A blood-thirsty, hand-eating horse!”

“Snowy isn’t any of those things, I’ll have you know. He’s a wonderful companion. I wouldn’t want another horse.” The redhead softened his gaze, turned to Snowy, and kept rubbing his ear. “Forgive him. Hector’s had a rough day.”

Hector had wanted to add, _No thanks to your horse,_ but he kept his mouth shut and smoldered in silence.

He tried his hardest to drop the subject. Saint Elimine and her goddess both knew nothing would change anyway. Even so, Snowy always looked ready to pounce whenever Hector shot him a glance. He was sure, absolutely sure, Snowy never gave the threatening glare to anyone else. Hector had no idea why, and it made him hate the horse even more.

He’d done _nothing_ to Snowy, and yet the hate turned mutual overnight. Hector couldn’t remember a instance where he ever hit Snowy; he always made sure to hit a training dummy. He also couldn’t remember the last time he called Snowy by name. It was always Horse, Beast, or Hoofbrain, and anytime Eliwood was out of earshot, Arse Head. Hector saw no reason to call Snowy by name. It would lead to him losing his hand sooner rather than later, for all he could see.

Hector used the term _Arse Head_ a lot a few days ago. Eliwood needed to look for someone who’d gotten lost on a woodland path, and he couldn’t bring Snowy due to the awful terrain. So he did the one thing Hector wished he hadn’t done.

Eliwood asked, “Can you watch him for me?”

Hector felt his eyebrow twitch. “Do you have any idea what you’re asking? Why not ask Lyn instead? She’s great with horses.” Everyone knew it, too; no one treated a horse better than someone from the Sacae Plains, like Lyn. However, only after the words left him did he realize Lyn had gone to tend to another matter. He stamped his foot on the ground and thought, _Damn it._

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon, I promise.” As Eliwood spoke, something odd hitched in his voice.

Hector sighed. “Fine, fine. But you better be quick!”

“Thanks.” Thus, like a cat, Eliwood darted out of sight.

Snowy moved fast. He craned his neck, brought his teeth close, and clamped down on Hector’s gauntlet.

Rage erupted like a volcano. “Knock it off, Arse Head!”

Things got a little dicey. It took a force of two women and three men—then four, once Eliwood returned—to stop both man and steed from fighting each other in mortal combat. And yet in spite of this, the redhead thanked him for watching Snowy. Hector didn’t understand it at all, and he _still_ hated that damn horse.

 _And I’m going to see Arse Head anyway?_ He’d asked himself the question a few times since he left the healing tents, and Lyn. If nothing else, it reminded him of where he was at present.

Off in the distance stood one of Bern’s greatest monuments, the Shrine of Seals. Distance and perspective did no justice to the shrine’s massive size. Looking at it now, one wouldn’t have realized a battle occurred there a mere two hours ago.

The long and perilous journey thus far brought him, Eliwood, and many others to the Shrine of Seals. As part of the sole group of people aware of a dark druid’s mad plans to obtain power at the world’s expense, everyone felt compelled to stop the threat before it took root. Hector and Eliwood had set out to do just that, though it hadn’t appeared as such at first. It all just “happened,” for lack of some better words. It felt like they’d gone from searching for his friend’s father to preempting a worldwide threat in the span of a few scant weeks. Somehow, it brought them to many companions and several battles for days on end. One of those battles took place a short distance from the Shrine of Seals.

Sometime after the battle, and after meeting a crippled legend, the dark druid appeared. It started with Ninian, one of their many companions, and one who’d grown quite close to Eliwood. The druid’s presence alone stalled the six of them who’d gone to the Shrine—Hector, Eliwood, Lyn, Ninian, her brother Nils, and Archsage Athos.

Ninian approached the dark druid. “If I go with you, will you leave the others alone?”

The dark druid, Nergal, smiled. The wrinkles on his face peeled back to reveal a set of unclean teeth. A chuckle escaped his awful grin. “I will. I’ll leave them be if you come with me… and if they stay right where they are.”

“No, Ninian! Don’t!” The cry came from both Eliwood and Nils.

Ninian closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and walked. Hector and Lyn moved to follow, but Ninian halted them with a cry. “Please, for all your sakes… let me do this.”

They had little else to do, and Hector hated it more than he’d hated anything. Ahead of them, Nergal’s grin widened. As soon as Ninian reached Nergal, Nils and Eliwood called for her again. The former broke down, but the latter cut himself short. Right around the moment Hector caught a subtle motion from Nergal.

Nergal moved fast for an old man. One bony hand whipped out from under his robe and seized Ninian by the wrist. In the same motion, he used his other hand to launch a dark spell at Nils. Hector and Lyn rushed ahead, but to no avail. Eliwood grabbed Nils’s arm and threw him to the side—only to take the blast in the chest himself.

He soared passed the rest of the group and skidded to a stop on the grassy ground. Hector heard many screams and shrieks, but Ninian’s rang the loudest by far, lingering in the air even after Nergal teleported away with her in tow. Everyone’s attention flew straight to Eliwood.

Hector ran to his side, dreading the worst. Traces of black smoke emanated from Eliwood’s very still form. When Hector knelt and rolled Eliwood onto his back, the sight of the burn mark almost broke him in half. The part of him retaining some sense shook his friend gently and called his name, but neither yielded a response.

Athos dropped next to Eliwood and used a staff to heal the wound. After some long, tense, agonizing moments, Athos withdrew the staff and let out an exhausted breath. A cough burst from Eliwood, feeble at first, but a little stronger with the next few.

“We need to get him back to the camp,” said Athos. “He’s breathing now, but I cannot heal this wound alone. If left like this for much longer, he won’t survive.”

Hector nodded and carried his friend to their camp, which felt like miles away. Once there, he set Eliwood down somewhere. Athos and his student, Pent, worked on healing the severe wound while the other healers tended to the injuries around the camp. Afterwards, Hector sat outside the crude tent with Lyn and hoped to everything good that Eliwood would live. He almost went mad having to sit and wait, sit and wait, and sit and wait some more when he felt he could do something instead. Lyn’s frequent spurts of pacing told him she felt the same. Nils left to rest somewhere in the meantime.

About two hours later—or rather, a few minutes ago—Athos stepped out of the tent. The old archsage’s shoulders sagged, but the focus in his eyes stayed strong.

“How is he?” asked Lyn.

“A little more work must be done, but he will live. He will live.” Athos looked at the ground. “Even with the work we’ve done, he will never make a full recovery. I know not how much the remnants of the wound will affect him in the future.”

“I see…” Hector released a frustrated sigh and stared off into space. Not the best-case scenario he’d hoped for, but by the gods, his friend would live. “Thanks, Graybeard. This means a lot.”

Athos answered with a small nod.

Lyn crouched beside Hector and patted his shoulder. “He’s going to be okay. Thank goodness…”

Their attention returned to the archsage, who released a deep sigh. “There’s a task you two must perform, and you’re going to need my help.”

“What is it?” asked Lyn.

“If we’re to confront Nergal again, you will need something to act as both your weapon and your shield in order to withstand the power of his magic. Hector, I intend to take you first to the resting place of Durban for this,” said Athos. He went on to explain the rest of his plan to Hector and Lyn, and how he would put Lyn and Eliwood through similar tasks once the latter recovered enough. Lyn expressed concern over sending the redhead off on the task in what was sure to be less-than-optimal condition. Unfortunately, their limited time yielded few other choices.

Hector knew they had to move, but after agreeing to the plan, he felt a sudden urge to do one thing before leaving with the archsage. Without thinking twice about it, Hector headed straight for the place where the army kept the mounts, where Eliwood had told Snowy to go before venturing to the Shrine of Seals with Hector, Lyn, and Athos. Lyn asked him then where he was going, and he needed little effort to recall how their brief conversation went.

Every step closer reminded Hector of how much aggravation Snowy had caused him over the years. The hand eating, the rough nudges, the near-misses from every kick… It all came back, and it made him angry and made him grumble. But it didn’t make him turn back.

He had to admit Snowy was a good horse. Snowy, despite the innocuous name, was built for war charges. In this sense, Snowy was brave, just like his rider. More than once, Snowy proved fierce on the battlefield—and to Hector—but kind everywhere else. He could see why Eliwood didn’t want another horse. If Hector had a steed willing to put itself in danger to protect him, knew what to do with little instruction, and seemed to just know its rider, Hector wouldn’t want to abandon it, either.

Along those lines, he realized something. As Snowy would stand in front of his rider to protect him, Eliwood would stand in harm’s way to protect Hector, or Lyn, or Ninian especially… or, as he’d demonstrated earlier, Nils. He’d done the same for Snowy, too.

 _Why so willing to do that?_ Hector would do the same, of course, but a certain, peculiar urgency lay in how Eliwood did it. Why?

He recalled, almost randomly, how scarce his meetings with Eliwood had been over the years. They met when they were about ten, and at twelve, they started to meet each other on the regular basis of once every two months. Prior to any of this, according to Eliwood himself, he hadn’t known anyone his own age. If Hector recalled right, it took a year or two for Eliwood to be more open about himself.

Hector wondered what Eliwood did before they met, before the redhead met someone his own age he could call _friend._ He once said he felt he couldn’t talk to his parents about everything he wanted, as well as things he thought the knights wouldn’t understand. “Frequent illness kept me in the castle for a few years,” he’d said, but this little problem faded once he turned ten. Did he have _anyone_ into whom he could confide during that first decade of his life?

Hector saw how it all fit now. Until Eliwood met Snowy, him, Lyn, or Ninian, there was no one. For Eliwood, Hector realized, a friend was a friend, be they human or horse, and thus someone worth his life to protect. He had few of them, so of course he’d protect them at any cost. He must’ve confided a great deal to Snowy when no one else could lend an ear. After all, Snowy wouldn’t judge. Hector wondered if Eliwood knew of this.

When he finished thinking through it all, he stood a few paces away from Snowy. As usual, the white horse looked ready to charge at the first opportunity. The other mounts went about their business, oblivious to their surroundings. Hector kept his eyes on Snowy and approached, then reached for the reins. Snowy’s snout closed in.

Hector pushed his open palm a hair shy from Snowy’s face. “Hey, hey. Not now.” The horse whinnied and shuffled, and Hector struggled a bit to tame him. “Calm down, damn it! Eliwood’s hurt.”

Snowy went motionless, then lowered his head. Wide, dark eyes peered up.

“Come on,” said Hector. “We’re going to see Eliwood… so settle down and come with me, all right?”

For the first time since they met, Snowy complied to his words without the redhead present. Hector led the horse to the tent where Eliwood rested. Lyn gave him a questioning look as he passed by, but Hector decided to talk about it later.

The tent resembled a merchant’s stand more than a traditional tent thanks to a hurried construction, so Snowy slipped in without much obstruction. Despite a sleepless gaze and slumped posture, Pent kept healing. He cocked an eyebrow at Snowy but said nothing. Hector was thankful for the silence. He wasn’t sure he could explain it well. For the moment, he stayed near one of the tent posts.

Snowy gave the slightest nuzzle to Eliwood, who groaned and awoke at last. His gaze turned from groggy to surprised, after which he smiled, all through an ashen and weary face.

“Don’t talk and keep still. Save your strength.” Pent looked up to Snowy. “He’ll be okay.”

Eliwood made eye contact with Hector for a moment and turned away, breathing deep and closing his eyes. Snowy kept his muzzle near his rider’s head, while his own eyes showed concern and relief. Both feelings, Hector realized, ran through him, too.

Sighing, he patted Snowy’s back. “Hey, Hoofbrain… I’d stay and watch him, but I have to take care of something soon, and Eliwood could use a little company. Can you watch him for me?”

He started to leave, but stopped upon Snowy making a soft, worried neigh. Somehow, he could tell Eliwood watched them despite his condition. Horse and rider appeared to have the same question in mind.

Understanding, Hector managed a smile for them. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon, I promise.”


End file.
